This blog is about our adventure to live the most sustainable family life we can. Only the three essentials, a roof over our heads, food, and education. From buying and recycling an old boat, to producing our own energy, these are the things we learn along the way and some simple advice to others with a dream.

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

It really does feel like a dream... 12 months ago we were enjoying life to its fullest sailing amongst the beautiful islands of the windwards. This is the sail from Rodney Bay. St Lucia to the Deux Pitons in the south of the island.

Isabel hooking in to a spanish mackerel.

This fish gave Isabel a good fight, but in the end he made an excellent fish curry thanks to Devon's cooking skills.

On all of our travels I have to say, the Wild Wrights never go back to a place a second time. But St. Lucia was just one of those magical places that we had to return to.
The genuine kindness of the people and their love for outdoor adventure is what made this island a two time visit for us.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

We're getting tired of Florida... It's too hot and way too shallow, so much so, that we can't fit on any dock. We did finally get a spot at The Circle Yacht Club but again,we can't fit into the slip and have to tie stern-too at the end of the fixed dock. This puts us in a precarious position right on the very edge of the channel and the deeper water that we need.

The EXO isn't happy... we had a tug and barge go by pushing against the 7kt outgoing tide and it's wake nudged us just enough to get Odessa's keel stuck on top of the edge of the channel. Ten minutes later I heard "why are we leaning"... it took a little investigation (the rain had finally abated) and from outside it looked quite dramatic. Well... the tide was going out in a big way, as it had for a couple of days with a full moon, and we have a couple of feet left to go and about 8 hrs before we'd be floated back on the rising tide.

It took two dinks and the boom swung way out to port to nudge the keel about 12 inches and off the ledge. It was a relief to see Odessa slide back to vertical and settle in her normal position, even if she does look odd sort of sticking out into the channel, with her butt tied to the last post of the dock.

Unfortunately, if it happens once, so it can happen again. As a sailor you must act in these situations and the next hour was spent rigging a third anchor to go off the bow and restrict it from going to starboard and sliding our keel back up on the ledge.

Blu had the right idea, lay as low as possible and hope know body tells you to pull a line.

We're sitting as pretty as we can for now and dreaming of heading north to cooler weather and deeper water. The trip north may be more harrowing than sailing out in the open Caribbean. Longer runs because we can't get into most of the ports up the eastern seaboard, dealing with bad weather shooting off the mainland as we realize how unpredictable coastal sailing can be. And of course there's the gulf stream with it tendency to amplify the weathers effect on the ocean.

All of these factors are unpredictable... and that's what makes it challenging and exciting, and much more fun than driving up the I95 to New York.

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Coffee & Ice Cream update

The kids events have been a huge success with visits to local farms which are being revived across the islands. Knot classes, beach hunts and a lot more. The season is winding down so the tourists are thin on the ground , and cruising kids are on the move south for the summer. We'll have more events in different spots on the way to Grenada.